Queen Sophie's Epistolary Smackdowns

Queen Sophie of the Netherlands had an opinion about everyone - and if she trusted you, she wasn't shy about sharing it. Writing to her British best friend, Lady Marian Malet, she delivered some epic beat-downs to everyone from Queen Victoria to Queen Augusta of Prussia.
There's a lot more to Sophie than her sick burns - that's just what caught my attention first. Some of her insults reminded me of the burn book in the movie "Mean Girls." I don't think Sophie set out to be mean - I just think she was brutally honest with everyone, including herself. Most people couldn't live up to her expectations.
It's not often we get to see this side of a royal figure. No polished public presence here! That's why I decided to share some of her epistolary smackdowns. I hope you enjoy meeting Sophie.
History is so awesome.
#history #royalty #queens
This is the audio version of a post I published on Medium. There, you can see the attribution for every quote and the sources. Check out out here: medium.com/@je...
Where can you find more of Sophie's verbal virtuosity? In the book "A Stranger in the Hague," edited by Sydney Jackman and Hella Haase.
ABOUT THE GIRL IN THE TIARA
----------------------------------------------------
I tell stories about tiaras and the fascinating royal women who wore them. Join me as I follow these tiaras across generations and countries, through wars and revolutions and-sometimes-into darkness and disappearance and destruction.
This isn't the kind of history your professor lectured about. Instead, think of this as conversational history, like a mash-up of Drunk History and The Crown. Yes, there's a little swearing. There's also humor and heart and a boatload of compassion for these amazing royal women.
ABOUT ME
-------------------
I never intended to start a channel or a website about tiaras and royal history. But a midlife crisis forced me to re-examine my life. I gave up fiction writing after self-publishing 9 of the 10 books I'd written and earning next to nothing.
Instead of the misery of marketing books, I turned to my first love...royal history. So here I am, a 40-something burnout, trying to start over by recapturing her love of history, royal women, and their jewels.
FIND ME ONLINE
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[@chronicstitcher7933]

She was clearly, very very unhappy and it showed in the things she said about others (isn't that what we always say about people today who are like this). As if the misery on the inside, manifested on the outside in her poison pen. It makes me feel very sorry for her.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

I feel sorry for her, too! I think she had so much to give in an intellectual capacity, but without a meaningful purpose, that intellect turned into exactly what you described - a poison pen. I wish she had felt more love and support in her life - if so, I think her story might have turned out differently.

[@wilfordfraser6347]

She was a great-granddaughter of Catherine the Great and she sounds uncannily like her.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Sophie was proud of her ancestry and I definitely think she inherited Catherine's literary tendencies.

[@cherryblossom2494]

And Catherine's birth name is Sophie so there is a coincidence

[@OWOT-re5jf]

Very entertaining and interesting

[@chicagogyrl4846]

How in the world could a Queen’s life be boring??! She could travel wherever she wanted, and do whatever she wanted to do, plus buy whatever she wanted! She sounds mentally ill to me.

[@Niatnuom_Esiotrot]

Sophie is still relevant today, her targets are primarily married women like her, my theory is that she projects imagined exaggerations of misery onto others who are in similar situations to herself, in order to feel less miserable. We can still see this phenomenon from people today. And it's not a clever thing to do, consciously or otherwise, the other party will sense the negative projections and take actions in return, eventually the projector invites more misery into their lives.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

That's a very interesting theory! That makes total sense with the way Sophie thought about Queen Victoria - since it was widely known that Victoria had a love match with Prince Albert, Sophie couldn't project her own marital misery onto that love story. So she picked on others' love for Victoria, which probably made her feel better.

[@fairygal8223]

Absolutely true!!!

[@fairygal8223]

@@TheGirlintheTiara Only, fleetingly,,,,

[@cindyaraya7317]

M. Jiakngeowbak, I couldn't agree with you more.

[@latoyah1624]

I am a new subscriber on virtue of your voice alone! The fact that you like history and give a feminist perspective is a major plus. Proceed my darling! (in my 1920s aristocracy voice)

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you ever so much, my dear! (also in my best 1920s aristocracy voice) ❤️ I love meeting other history lovers who want more than the usual dates, places, and dudes. So glad you're along for the ride. :)

[@aanchal-annaleedeprince5525]

Yes

[@sagapoetic8990]

Arrange marriages take a toll, and it had to be doubly hard to move from a situation where she played an active role -- to then being sidelined as well as married to a man she loathed and both he and his mother probably made things hell as well.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Absolutely! If she'd had some political power, I think she could have dealt with the disappointment of a hostile marriage. But to have no outlet for her intelligence and ambition AND to have zero emotional support...yikes.

[@cindyaraya7317]

Except this evil harpy sounds no better than the mother - in - law who hated her, it just seems like a lot of he hatred towards Sophie by Queen Anna was to some extent merited and deserved. To me, they were both she devils, wicked and cruel. What did Queen Marianne of the Netherlands (a subject that I have recently come to know and learned about, and am fascinated by) due to this wicked she devil to have earned her wrath?

[@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co]

Where has this channel been all my life?!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

I'm so glad you like it! I'm working on more videos right now - there should be more to entertain you soon. :)

[@J2C3V3]

Your prononciation of 'Eugénie' and 'bête noire" were perfect.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Merci beaucoup! I credit my high school French teacher, Mademoiselle McDowell. French was one of my favorite classes. ❤️

[@AEKAskenburne]

Thanks for bringing this interesting character of a European queen to my notice! Never heard of her before!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

You're very welcome! I stumbled on a book of her letters in a university library and couldn't resist sharing. Glad you liked her! :)

[@Miss65boo]

When you are miserable it helps to put others down in an effort to make yourself feel better.

[@novabohr4686]

This makes me incredibly paranoid that some future anthropologist will find my text to my bff and know the truth about what I thought about everyone.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Me too! I have my old diaries in a filing cabinet and now I kind of want to scan them, password protect the scans, and burn the originals. Just in case. ;)

[@Thecoochincanoocheecreek]

Sounds like she was envious of Princess Marianne bc she had the guts to do what Sophie dreamed of doing. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@Shortlady82]

Yep

[@fanattaj4889]

Thanks for highlighting such an interesting royal! I had never heard of her and now I am so intrigued. Excellent job! Instant sub!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you - I'm so glad you're here! Wouldn't it have been fun to have a girls' night with Sophie to talk books, history, and of course, gossip...

[@johannymilord3371]

Wow, for someone like her she has a lot of things to say in her mind.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

I think that's why I like her so much. We might not have agreed, and maybe we would have even hated each other, but boy, you sure knew where you stood with her.

[@catspaw3092]

Sophie would've been a great ruler she was blunt & to the point she wasn't afraid to speak her mind maybe that's why her husband & mother-in-law wanted to keep her in her place. They didn't want her questioning things & outshining them Sophie was wickedly smart no wonder her father trusted her judgments.

[@19Marah72]

I heard about Queen Sophie, (I'm from the Netherlands) but only by name/history. Well, she obviously spoke her mind trough the pen, pencil etc, she didn't hold back on her thoughts about other royals, even her own familie! Seems she had a spirit about her watching this. In those times you had to held yourself togheter in a male-dominated society. Never knew about her charactre. Thanks for the upload!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

You're very welcome! I agree with you about Sophie's spirit. She was a firecracker. 🧨

[@mangot589]

The wedding dress burial. Ouch.

[@lf3541]

Wicked good episode, lol! 😉

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thanks so much! Sophie's a kick, isn't she? ;)

[@fan2jnrc]

This is one of the most interesting videos I've seen for a while. I knew Sophie by some of her letters to her cousin Napoléon III, and I had noticed she was remarkably clever (she warned him with a great lucidity about things who happened later), but a bit sour-tempered at the same time. But about the last point, now, I see it was worse than I supposed, actually. 😂 (Oh and seriously her opinion about Empress Eugénie is really unfair.)

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Yes, you're right! I noticed several things she predicted quite accurately, including Prussian militarism and the bad things that were coming because of it. And I totally agree that her opinion of Eugénie was unfair. I suspect she was harder on Eugénie than many other royals (at least the ones she wasn't related to) because of her fondness for Napoleon III. Not sure who would have been good enough for him in her opinion... 🤷‍♀️

[@fan2jnrc]

@@TheGirlintheTiara Haha you're completely right. About that, she reminds me a bit another Napoléon III's cousin, Princess Mathilde, who was always deprecating Eugénie, because she never really got over not having marrying him. (A very interesting personality btw. Maybe for a future subject...:))

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

@@fan2jnrc I'll add Mathilde to the list! I've come across several references to her lately, and she seems like the kind of opinionated woman I want to know more about. :)

[@fairygal8223]

She certainly was a scathing gossip!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

She sure was...but if you were her friend, I bet she was a blast to talk to. You could really get everything off your chest in a conversation with her!

[@wm3277]

That's funny. That's how I feel about generation now

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

It's funny - when I read that about Sophie, I had this feeling that we're all more connected to the past than we think. It might feel distant, but the same thoughts pop up again and again over time. Of course, I'll probably be one of those grumpy old ladies telling the kids to get off my lawn. And then I'd fit right in with Sophie. :)

[@aanchal-annaleedeprince5525]

Yea

[@marissas8526]

I agree with you much like Sophie I too would like to be left alone with my books and writing. Lol!!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Yes! That's a big part of why I like her. So cool that we all have that in common. :)

[@aanchal-annaleedeprince5525]

Yes me too

[@irmooflorien5399]

So Sophie was the original “not like other girls”?

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

That's a good way to put it! :)

[@reneerichburg1500]

WOW!!!! SHE WAS MEAN😲🙄😳

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

For sure! What I like about her is that she let that meanness out in private letters to her best friend, not in public. Everyone needs a safe space to vent...and she definitely used it!

[@divinenyang9905]

Please I’m begging you to post more videos! I love your content!! Take your time though if you are burnt out ♥️♥️♥️

[@twaiv]

Queen Sofie appeared to have been a unhappy and judgemental bore.

[@dorothywillis1]

I think it is likely she was seeing the world through her own unhappy personality. Poor woman! It's too bad she didn't focus on what was right in her world -- there must have been something -- instead of what was wrong.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

I think you're right. She was so unhappy and unfulfilled that it just overwhelmed her. She loved her three sons when they were little - if I remember correctly, the middle son died, and the oldest son became a bit of a scoundrel, adding to her disappointments. But she adored her youngest son, Alexander, so she did have something positive in her life.

[@Mrs.TJTaylor]

There’s no excuse for that kind of behavior. Maybe if she’d been a little more tolerant and kind, she would have made friends and been happier. As it is, the loss of her is no great loss.

[@francescanguyen6703]

I’m a new subscriber to your wonderful channel and I’m so glad I happened across it. Your voice makes it so much easier to get fully immersed into the video and really understand the story as you narrate it. Please keep the videos coming. The life and death of some of the most interesting and powerful women is thoroughly amazing. Sending best wishes from Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 UK.

[@elioraimmanuel]

What a snarky, gossiping judgmental shrew was this woman

[@betttrbeth]

Thank you for introducing me to this great wit!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

You're very welcome - I'm glad you enjoyed meeting her! :)

[@jaungeskaune1975]

This historical editing's very informative (and educational) ❤️ Thank you for contributing. . .

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you - I'm so glad you liked it! :)

[@melindawakley7859]

This is funny. And I love Sophie. Anyone who’s had a mother-in -law from hell, identifies with Sophie. All of it. And I love how Sophie lives on in her letters.

[@miriamaguilar7977]

I love this channel and your telling these interesting royal women's stories. Thank you. Gives me an idea to begin writing my own opinions on things and our times....esp as it pertains to the world we as women deal with daily in our personal and professional lives. Stay well, sweet lady! :-)

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

That sounds like a great idea - I'd listen (or read or watch) if you started doing that! It's amazing how many of the situations in these women's stories have echoes today. That's what would make your opinion interesting, too...as women, we've all experienced and seen things that we probably take for granted or have never tried to share, but that would resonate if we did. ❤️

[@gerrymccartney3561]

Such a clever mind forced to live such a sad life of boredom and repression.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Precisely. It's interesting to think about what she could have been and done in modern society, where she would have been free to get a divorce, or create her own career path.

[@aanchal-annaleedeprince5525]

Yeaeaea so sad

[@ladybayside7547]

I wonder why her husband wasn’t a fan? She sounds like a troll actually.

[@anngreen3495]

We've heard what Anna thought of her. I'd be interested to hear what other contemporaries thought of Sophie.

[@badassunicorn5351]

Loving your videos!!!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@karinmoseley8694]

love your presentations - selection of topics ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@bettypendleton8043]

Enjoyed this. Thank you

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

You're very welcome - glad you liked meeting Sophie. :)

[@nuisance682]

Really starting to love this channel.. love your videos and narration I believe your on to something here..👸🤴👑

[@zahria]

For the Dutch and German part you did great! I was surprised to hear you say Willem perfectly. In another video you said Xenia. I was married to a Greek. They pronounce much likethe Russians. His name was Xristos. Which we would write Christos. A word like Xenos (strange/er) or Xaos (chaos) - would all be pronounced with the more guttural ch.. Perhaps you fi d this interesting? I did 😊 Greeting from the Dutch /German border !

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you so much - phew, I'm glad I got "Willem" right! Before I record, I look for videos of native speakers pronouncing names and words I'm unsure of. So far, the Czech words in the Eleonora von Schwarzenberg video were the hardest! And thank you for the info about Greek and Russian pronunciation - Xenia is a tricky one. In some English transliterations, it shows up as "Ksenia," in others as "Zhenya," which seem totally different to me. The hard "k" isn't anything like the soft "z." I find languages all so interesting, and would love to speak six or seven someday. If I need help with Dutch, now I know who to ask. ;)

[@zahria]

@@TheGirlintheTiara Ha ha -i would not worry too much. You are doing fine ! I justcwrote because i got a feeling that you are as intrigued by languages as i am. The way you said Xenia would be used like this in most of Europe anyway i guess. And i also think the sound and writing usually differs little. KS - X -ZH is all very close ? Well - i was born in Germany, but emigrated to the Netherlands after living in Ireland (not long). One of my grandmothers was Dutch, the other from Silesia (now Poland). And you are welcome to ask anytime. I might be best suited for Dutch and German. But i truly think you can relax, about all those diffucult and varied pronunciations. No normal person manages Chech, Hungarian! or Polish without lessons 😄. Italian i think - can be done though 😊 It'sa so cute'a 😂

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

@@zahria Oh, yes, I'm absolutely intrigued by languages, too! One of the most interesting classes I ever took in college was a linguistics class where the professor showed us how different languages construct their sentences, and then had us writing full sentences in Finnish even though no one could speak it. I was blown away. It was like some magical gate had been unlocked. And oh, yes, I've heard Hungarian and Polish are super tricky. I'm sure some day I'll have to pronounce names in those languages, so fingers crossed! I took a semester of Italian once just because I love opera and I wanted understand the language my favorites were written in. I need to get back into it, pronto...because it IS so cute'a! ;)

[@licoricegirl]

@@TheGirlintheTiara I thought I would add on to the reason for this - in Russian, Xenia is actually Ксения, or Ksenia, so while yes, a Russian X would be pronounced like a hard H like in Greek, her Russian name did not include an X, Xenia being the adopted foreign spelling to suit English (the same way her father’s name was Gyorgyi, pronounced with two hard “G”s, like gain, gallop, but adapted to English as George, which is why Georgievna would be pronounced with both Gs hard, as it is the patronymic and thus not adapted to English). Therefore, her name would natively be pronounced like Kseh-knee-ya (with a very clear K and S sound, not a Z), but Xenia the way you pronounce it in the original video works as well, as the Romanovs spoke English at home by Nicholas II’s reign (the previous generations were more francophone). Nicholas II was known to speak to his wife in English (even though she spoke perfect Russian), to the point where “he could fool any Oxford professor that he was an Englishman” according to his uncle, and reportedly even had an English accent when speaking Russian! The same way his name was Nikolay, but he was often called Nicholas or Nicky (“in the English manner”, as it is called in Russian), it would not be wrong to say that Ksenia was called Xenia w a Z at home. (Source: Am Russian, learnt this from my history books in school) Thank you so much for your videos! Truly a breath of fresh air. Apologies for any mistakes in my English.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

@@licoricegirl Thank you so much - this is incredibly detailed and helpful! And your English is wonderful. ❤️ The fact that the Romanovs and their relatives spoke so many languages is helpful for researchers, but it definitely presents a quandary: should we call them what they're best known by, what their name would be in English, what their name would be in their native language, what they were called by their family, or (if they were women who married abroad) what they were called in their husband's country - because these were all often different! It's all part of the fun of history, and I'm deeply grateful for all the explanation you provided above. Thank you ever so much.

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

Great vlog as always!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you - I'm so glad you enjoyed it. :)

[@tapsars7911]

Queen Sophie seems to be very rude rather than brutally outspoken . Not being able to find happiness in her own life she attacked the happiness of others . She does not seem to have liked anybody besides her own self .

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Oh, for sure, a lot of what she said was rude...especially about her sister-in-law, Sophie of Saxe-Weimar. But I think these letters were her emotional outlet. She wrote these things to her best friend because she knew that was a "safe space" for her. She didn't say any of this in public, thank goodness!

[@aanchal-annaleedeprince5525]

She is after my heart as well. I most of the time.want to be alone to read and write

[@Rhombohedral]

The Dutch nickname for William III. Was King Gorilla... he was half Russian with his mom being the sister of the Tsar Anna Pavlovna of Russia heavenly-holland.com/king-gorilla/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_III_of_the_Netherlands just being married to king gorrila would be a dreaded ordeal

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Oh, thanks for adding that tidbit! Yikes. King Gorilla is *not* how you want to go down in history.

[@tapsars7911]

Her aunt / mother in law might have been unjustified in her treatment of Sophie but there does not seem to be very much likeable about Sophie . I find her a very rude and sociopathic person .

[@PhDrSeuss]

Very interesting and I thank you. I didn't know much about her until now. She sure hated a lot.

[@esse6449]

Good video. 👍

[@inaleyen2737]

Well done!!! Pronunciation of German names is quite good.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you very much! I looked up those pronunciations beforehand, but it's nice to know I didn't do too badly. :)

[@inaleyen2737]

@@TheGirlintheTiara you are doing a great job! I enjoy your videos and find them very informative.

[@benson5468]

What a horrible existence too much time on her hands, we all find fault with people she was educated had ambition but was stuck by birth right she simply had time to refine insult not particularly a strong willed otherwise we would listening to her many adventures and travels instead

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Too much time on her hands is exactly right. There were probably some good options for her to fill that time - charity work springs to mind. I guess that option didn't suit her, although it might have given her more of a purpose.

[@cherryblossom2494]

I honestly love Sophie, feel pretty sorry for her that she had to deal with her husband and his mother, she is like her great grandmother Catherine The Great who were badasses, intelligent, and strong people who had to deal with crappy people in their lives (because Catherine had to deal with Empress Elizabeth of Russia and husband's crap and Sophie dealt with her husband and mother-in-law's crap)

[@LadyCoyKoi]

I would've wanted to hear about her predictions. 😥

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Someone else requested this as a future video, so that may happen! Many of her predictions were about Prussian militarism and what would happen if no one checked Bismarck's ambitions.

[@CoffeesChypresBooks]

Pretty sad lady - I wish she had more friends to cheer her up.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Me too! If she'd had more emotional support in her life, I think she could have done wonderful things. It just goes to show how important friendship and compassion are.

[@bluebluedogbooks]

Thanks!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

You're very welcome! :)

[@jamellfoster6029]

She was beautiful & intelligent & she had an amazingly modern Dad...

[@sharonrussell7995]

Sophie; don't be shy. Tell us what you think!!

[@ludovica8221]

the music is very loud and intrusive on this one

[@raynonabohrer5624]

I believe I could be this woman!

[@MLPH09]

I’m thoroughly enjoying your videos I really am very entertaining very entertaining very thought warming I just love it

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you so much - I'm so glad you're enjoying them! ❤️

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

I like unrestrained letters too! (Elizabethan soldier-poet Sir Philip Sidney wrote someone a letter saying, "If you do not stop telling lies about me, I will thrust my dagger into you!") Nice captions like "Wasn't kidding about that hairstyle..." "She hated the greedy, lazy kids of the next generation." Sound familiar? You quote her about her aunt Princess Marianne. There's a full video of her life story here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2bVcmmOjLCUj7s I wonder what she said about the neighbouring king, evil Leopold II of Belgium?

[@jeffolsen4380]

New favorite person lol

[@mahirmuhtasima]

If you are also interested in mughal or indian Princess i would love to hear them from you. There are not much stories on them. There are lots of interesting stories of many bold indian Princess.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

I must say, I'd be a little out of my depth linguistically and culturally with an Indian Princess. But I do love those bold women and I love researching, so I'll put this on my list to investigate. Which Indian princesses are your favorite?

[@mahirmuhtasima]

You can start with queen padmavati. She is one of my favourite

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

@@mahirmuhtasima Thank you - I'm adding her to my list. :)

[@xwiirastusx]

She looks almost exactly like British actress Margaret Tyzack, who has played many regal roles in her day.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Oh, wow, you're right. I found a still image of her from the The Forsyte Saga in the late 1960s and the resemblance is striking!

[@xwiirastusx]

@@TheGirlintheTiara You should check out the English TV drama called I, Claudius. It was produced in the 1970s but the historical accuracy and the production value are HUGE. The activity, based on the novel by Robert Graves, takes place in the early days of the Roman Empire. Ms. Tyzack plays the role of Agrippina the Older there, very much a traditionalist, cold-hearted Roman matron who didn't give two s*its about her son Claudius, the future emperor.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

@@xwiirastusxOh, I've heard this is good from *so many* history podcasters who reference it when they cover Agrippina (the elder or the younger). I just haven't made time to sit down and watch it yet. Now I really have to!

[@ItsMeAnn628]

Idk she just sounds like a bitter old woman. Nothing and no one was good enough for her. 😒

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

She was *very* bitter, you're right. I try to keep in mind how much misery she had in her life, and remember that if someone met me when I was having a bad day (or week, or month, or year, like in Sophie's case), they'd probably think I was a grumpy old lady, too.

[@nni9310]

I would ask if you would record her exact words regarding her predictions.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thanks for the request - I'll add that to my list! :)

[@nni9310]

@@TheGirlintheTiara Thank you.

[@gildafontoura5662]

Excelente pronunciation.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you very much! :)

[@sandramcdaniel2]

She read Lord Byron 👍🏼

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

She did! She read constantly - poetry, history, fiction, biography. Her letters are full of notes on what she's reading. Pretty sure she would have started a book club if she'd lived in our time!

[@Pro-Deo]

Wow all the horrible things she had to say about others was how she really felt about herself. No love. None. I pity her soul because it's not in Heaven.

[@chicagogyrl4846]

Why in the world didn’t she divorce her husband, if her life ended on her wedding day??! 😆😂

[@ctsbathory8867]

The music on this episode was too much for me. Iften way too loud and competitive with her lovely voice and energetic story tellung. I so wanted to turn it off so i could focus on the story.

[@poponachtschnecke]

I hate the "burn" language, but everything else in this video was great!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you - I'm glad everything other than my slang entertained you. :)

[@gabriellebernard198]

I wish the narrator would not use teenage "slang" like "sick burn". It somehow reduces the story to something juvenile.

[@mamiemonrovia7654]

at 2:49 that looks like Queen Elisabeth's. Her MIL was known to swoop in and take advantage of other royals who fell on hard times.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

That does look a lot like the fringe tiara Elizabeth wore in so many gorgeous Cecil Beaton photos. As far as I know, that one had belonged to Queen Mary (her mother-in-law), and was made in 1919 using a fringe diamond necklace Queen Victoria had given her as a wedding present in 1893. There's another British fringe tiara that had belonged to Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV (early 19th century). No one really knows what happened to the fringe tiara Sophie's wearing in that portrait. Her jewels were divided between her two living sons when she died - I believe the oldest sold most of his, and the youngest attempted to buy some of them back. Both died without children, and the youngest son left his share to his half-sister, Queen Wilhelmina. The paper trail hasn't surfaced yet on who got that fringe and what may have happened to it....an interesting mystery!

[@user-qz5dq8kn4p]

I find it funny for she speaks her mind and says it the way she sees it I find it to be that Sophie is brutally honest lol 😂 and people don’t like that and that’s the problem Now as far as Anner it’s like this she is a Russian Grand Duchess by birth at the time of her birth Russia was one of the riches monarchy’s at that time of all Europe it’s like when emperor Paul’s daughter Married an arch duke of Austria some of the ladies at court didn’t care for her since all of her clothing was from Paris and her jewelry was to big and extravagant they couldn’t compete so they were upset and the Russian court was ridged / loos as well yet everything is done formally you wrote letters to your children letting them know when there parents were able to see them look at Nicky and Sunny. They had wrote I think it was from the first time they met till they were murdered I’m thinking it was over 10,000 letters if not more I’ll have to ask my grandmama and sunny to her children I think there were over 15 or 16 thousand letters it was crazy and Nicky did the same with the children and who ever was the dowager empress at the time when Anner was a Child the dowager would of had higher rank then the empress consort that’s the way it always was in Russia so I’m sure Anner brought a lot of the traditions of the Russian court with her 🥰

[@maidaerdenhout]

The actual Princess of Oranje Nassau, could mary into the Family of Würtemberg, because her family , until now has not married with our Family .........

[@kaythegardener]

With all her clerness, Sophie couldn't seem to take any responsibility for the shape of her life!! How much of her misery was sslf-inflicted??

[@goomu]

2:15

[@georgedover1411]

i like this sassy broad.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

She's a firecracker, that's for sure. ;)

[@shopiaryalexandre1233]

My great-grandmother's shopiary but I don't know a lot of the history is faked

[@ROCKDEES1]

A true hater. 👍

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Indeed - Statler and Waldorf have nothing on Sophie. ;)

[@POLMAZURKA]

dance...

[@ambc8970]

Was she bi-polar??!!

[@TMPreRaff]

Visually, this video is well done. Too bad the narration undermines the subject and images.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you for watching - I appreciate the feedback.

[@robynsalaver4069]

What a horrid woman! Her insults aren't clever or intelligent. She sounds bitter and can only make herself feel better by tearing others down.

[@daya820]

Sophie sounds bitter and over critical.

[@shammydammy2610]

Gee, I wonder why.

[@victoriawhite3662]

Yeah, but wouldn’t we all be in her shoes?😆

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Oh, she was definitely bitter...but I can't blame her. I would be, too, after being raised with love and respect and then finding myself in a household with neither. I think even the most patient person would need an outlet, which was what these letters were for her.

[@fairygal8223]

I hope that she fell in love and had a dangerous liaison of her own!!! I also hope that her children, and perhaps charity played a good part of her life!!! Just my opinion!!! 🤪🤣

[@noorgonzalez1076]

ISAIAH 65:21,22

[@coopsevy5664]

I love Sophie! But your wrong about today and having choices of your own when your tied to commonwealth. You have no say, rules are u written until one makes the mistake, you dont have a choice over your own health you dont have a choice to lock your home to keep aothers out, any privaticy doesn't happen at all you listened to (because they need to keep you safe at all times and step in physically if an emergency arises), they watch to today technology makes that very easy, the backyard ground data of person and self is not your own (yes I suppose you could opt way but the advantage is that of unwriten book).

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Oh, for sure, all the factors you mention would still be a part of her life today. But she wouldn't have had such pressure to make a dynastic marriage, and could have had more say in the matter. It's possible she could have chosen someone more suited to her, which would have reduced the amount of anger and bitterness in her life.

[@TBullCajunbreadmaker]

I have to say that you and her favor each other somewhat. You and her have some of the same facial features. They are nothing bad, more good than bad, just an observation. Maybe a former life? Who knows, if you have any leanings toward reincarnation it might fit. I'm just thinking out loud, don't take me seriously always, Ha, Ha!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Ha! The idea of reincarnation is interesting - I could definitely be persuaded. And Sophie and I both love to read, both love history, both love sharing what we read...you never know! :)

[@dawnyockey1475]

Hum, I’m thinking a little sugar would have sweetened her lot in life. That is the problem with even feminism today too. Nobody likes bitter. She may have had the smarts, but not the common sense.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

I'd argue that she had some common sense - enough to keep most of these thoughts hidden in private letters to her best friend. But you're right - I don't get the sense that she was easy to get along with, thanks to that bitterness.

[@atis9061]

She could’ve found her way out of her misery, if she were so clever & intelligent, lesser people have done so. She was just like all the rest.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Yes, she could have - I agree with you. It takes a lot of emotional strength to let go of that kind of bitterness and disappointment, but plenty of people (royal and otherwise) have done it.

[@francesquinn-escott744]

Quote Quote Quote Etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc So where's the literal quotations??

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

All the quotations I read are Sophie's literal quotations, taken directly from her letters to Lady Malet. (I apologize if I misunderstood your question!)

[@lizagiaccone119]

I enjoyed several of your programs until you used the Lord’s name in vain in this one. I won’t be watching any more.

[@dmeblue]

Yuck....what an unpleasant, hateful woman she was

[@shannonpierre8714]

Yeah, this is the second video I've watched from you. The background music in both is loud and distracting, the subject was not that interesting, and the moist mouth noises were a total turn off- it was like the ASMR videos of whispering and eating that I hate. I couldn't even make it through this video at 1.5 speed. Sorry, but I'll be asking youtube's algorithm not to recommend this snore-fest of a channel to me in the future.

[@marinazagrai1623]

I love this woman...speaking her mind during times when women, even aristocratic/royal weren't supposed to say anything unpleasant. That was dignified, but that doesn't mean they have to keep it to themselves ...writing in a diary for posterity helps us see into her character.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Oh, you would love the book "A Stranger in the Hague." Sophie has a TON more zingers. This video could have been hours long if I included all of them! She's a firecracker, and I love that about her.

[@sharoncft08]

@@TheGirlintheTiara thank you I will look for the book

[@sharoncft08]

Unfortunately it is not available as an ebook and being in Portugal and in lockdown at present, that is such a shame

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

@@sharoncft08 Getting books for the past year has been tough! I might be able to help with this one - please send me a message through the contact form on my website: girlinthetiara.com/contact/.

[@sharoncft08]

Done, thank you 🤗

[@Fashionflyz]

Oooof, the book in hardcover is 921$ on Amazon! Now, that is wicked!

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Wow, that *is* wicked. I borrowed a copy from a local university library a couple years ago. I had to pay $100 to get that library membership, but it was worth it. Does your local library do interlibrary loan? That might be a low- or no-cost way to get a hold of it.

[@Fashionflyz]

I can look, for sure! Great tip! 1k is a bit costly, even if it does equip me with sick burns.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

@@Fashionflyz Sick burns *are* awesome, but I'm with you - not worth paying quite that much for them. Have you ever used the website addall.com? They look up prices for you across a bunch of book vendors - it looks like there are a few copies to be had under $100 - but interlibrary loan would still be the cheapest option. Here's the link for the addall results: www.addall.com/New/NewCompare.cgi?&id=20210204093456513832&isbn=9780822308751&thetime=20210204093456&author=&title=

[@vilmacarande-kulis7769]

Wonderful information. Background music is too loud.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thank you for the feedback! I'll turn the music down in future videos. :)

[@argusfleibeit1165]

The music is horribly distracting. It makes your narration sound really boring with all that frantic sawing away on the violins.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thanks for the feedback - that's helpful to know.

[@mausicute8804]

The background music is toooo loud! I can't hear what you are speaking😮‍💨 I like very much your historical gossip

[@annierose8099]

Queen Sophie don’t hold back does she. I want to be like her when I grow up. 🤭…. Hmm Let’s make that in the next life? 🤭

[@danoontjebrown]

I feel bad for her that she had to marry willem III. I am from The Netherlands and it is no secret that Willem was a terrible person. As for now I would describe Willem even as a wicked man. He tried to send the nations army to switserland because they didnt want him to show his naked butt to the public and was known for torturing his staff. As a smart and political active person like her being held back by her family in law, I am able to understand that complaining about the stupidity of others can be a way of therapy for her eventhough it is not very nice. However it was clear she was not there for making friends. She was there for making political allies for her father.

[@TheGirlintheTiara]

Thanks for adding more detail about Willem! I can't imagine what it would have been like to work for him, let alone be married to him. Ugh. I hope Sophie was grateful to Lady Malet for letting her vent for so many years. 🤞